D3-1 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: In Fear of the Phantom!
by wsdsrdbw4096
Summary: As the title suggests, this story is a rewrite of the SDMI episode In Fear of the Phantom and sequel to The Story of Alice May! Eighth entry of my reboot of SDMI. Please read and review!
1. An old yearbook

**Author's note: And now comes _D3 SDMI: In Fear of the Phantom!_**

 **Before getting onto the story, I want to note that I am seriously considering revising several of my Dimension One (My modern-day reboot of the franchise) stories, such as _Phantoms and the Talent Star Finals_ , namely because they were mainly written when I was new to the game and now that think back about those stories, particularly those that features my OCs William Walter Wu and Elizabeth Lee, the story line doesn't seem to work well with my current mindset now that I am more familiar with the game.**

 **As a result, just a bit of heads up, expect some of the stories to either be removed from the site or be tweaked completely.**

 **This also applies to my William Wu stories on FictionPress. I am planning to do a complete reboot of my OC and as a result, there are going to be plenty of changes to the stories.**

 **I don't own _Scooby-Doo._ Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. does. If I do own the franchise, you all won't be reading this or any of my stories on this site, nor will _Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated_ in its original form would ever be aired. Instead, you'll be watching high-quality Scooby series and movies on television and on YouTube through an official Scooby-Doo YouTube Channel by now.**

* * *

Chapter 1: An old yearbook and an eco-goth band

 _May 7, 2012_

It has been 3 days since the school dance at Crystal Cove Central High School took place and the showdown with Alice May. Since then, the gang has taken the time to relax, although they were puzzled by the fact that Alice wasn't what she claimed to be.

Speaking of the dance, Fred and Velma had a marvelous time dancing together after the capture and were quite reluctant to split up and head their separate ways after the dance was over.

As they left the school to head home for the night after the dance, Fred signaled Velma over to ask her something.

Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne looked on as Fred asked Velma something.

"I was wondering what did you meant when you referred to me as 'my Freddie', Velma?" Fred asked.

Velma raised an eyebrow. "What did you mean, Freddie?"

"When that ghost girl tried to force you away from me, you said to her that you're not letting anyone 'hurt my Freddie'." Fred said.

"Oh, that." Velma's cheeks burned in embarrassment. She sighed before turning to Fred and asked, "Well, if I explain the reason behind that remark, Freddie, does that change things between us?"

Fred thought for a while before shrugging. "To be honest, Velms, it depends on your reasoning, though I'm sure the bigger question is that will this make things complicated between us?"

"True." Velma nodded.

What followed was some lengthy discussion as seen by the other three, and afterwards, they saw Fred placing his hands on Velma's shoulders before they shared a hug.

Shaggy turned to his two friends and remarked, "About time."

Scooby and Daphne both nodded in agreement as Fred and Velma came to join them, holding hands.

* * *

That morning, Shaggy arrived at his locker as usual to put away his school bag. When he opened it, he was greeted by a surprising sight.

"Like, what's this old yearbook doing in my locker?" He wondered to himself as he pulled out the old yearbook.

The yearbook was for the 1983-1984 school year, and as he examined it, he thought he could smell peaches.

"Why does this old yearbook smelled like peaches?" He wondered to himself before something occurred to him.

SHAGGY'S FLASH VISION

Watching himself and the gang heading into the school gym for the dance last Friday, Shaggy looked around in the shadows before noticing Alice, who was in the crowd of students, sneaking off down the hallway.

He saw that she was holding something in her hand and he quickly paused his flash vision before walking over to her.

She was holding the 1983-1984 Crystal Cove Central High School Yearbook he is currently holding.

"How did she manage to get this yearbook into my locker?" He wondered as he resumed playing his flash vision.

He then watched Alice approaching his locker, and then his eyes widened as she turned the combination lock handle and opened the locker door effortlessly.

"Zoinks!" He muttered as he watched Alice placing the yearbook into his locker before slamming the door shut and then making her way to the nearby girls washroom. "I'm going to have to change lockers or get a new lock."

He shook his head in annoyance and made a note to himself to get a new combination lock.

END OF FLASH VISION

Shaggy looked again at the old yearbook and decided to take a look at it.

Flipping through the pages, he soon came upon the seniors photo section of the yearbook.

Scanning through the photographs of the seniors, his eyes soon caught onto the photos of Ronald "Ronnie" Jones, Linda Owens, her twin brother Ricky "W.W." Owens and Kelly Summers.

Then, he flipped through the pages before coming upon the clubs section, and he saw the Mysteries Five school band featured in the section of the yearbook.

The band members were in the photo, along with their mascot Professor "Knows Too Much" Pericles, who's a parrot.

"Somehow, I've got a feeling that we're not going to hear the last of Mr. E." He thought to himself as he noticed Daphne arriving at her locker through his peripheral vision.

* * *

Later that night, as the city sleeps for the night, a certain tour bus was driving down the highway.

The bus has a goth-style paint livery and it's sides had the words "Hex Girls" on it.

After what turned out to be a long drive, the tour bus arrived in a motel located in the outskirts of Crystal Cove City.

After the passengers got their rooms and headed in to call it a night, the lights went dim and the parking lot was quiet.

That is, until a shadowed figure stepped out from the bushes near the parking lot and walked casually to the Hex Girls' parked tour bus.

The figure was armed with a pair of wire cutters, and it slipped to the bottom of the bus.

A minute later, the figure was gone, but underneath the bus, a puddle of a certain fluid was getting larger by the seconds.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	2. A band cursed by the Witch's Ghost

**Author's note: Now that I have finished my rewrite of SDWAY's series premiere _What a Night for a Knight!_ for D4, I am at a crossroads on what to do next for the D4 series.**

 **If I can direct your attention to my Profile, you'll see that I've added a new poll, which basically asks what I should do next for my D4 series.**

 **Please go and vote in the poll, which will close on Friday the 20th, so if you want me to continue on with the D4 series by doing a full rewrite of the SDWAY series or just skip ahead and work on my other D4 stories, please go cast your vote in the poll.**

* * *

Chapter 2: A band cursed by the Witch's Ghost

 _May 8, 2012_

The next day, the gang were further mystified by the surprise discovery Shaggy had made in his locker the day before.

"Are you saying that Mr. E could be involved in what Alice May was doing last week?" Fred asked as they were on their way to school on the Mystery Machine.

The day before, Fred was absent from school, as he was requested to be with his father for a campaign rally, in addition to taking part in several campaigning events.

Velma was also gone over the weekend and into Monday for the state's science fair, so neither she nor Fred were aware of Shaggy's surprising discovery until that day.

"I'm saying that it's very likely to be the case." Shaggy said with his arms folded. "Like, he warned us about the _Mysteries Five_ and then Alice May, who somehow managed to figure out my lock combination, placed the 1983-1984 yearbook in my locker before last Friday's dance and it featured the school band."

Velma nodded thoughtfully as she read the newspaper, not saying a word.

She then flipped a page before exclaiming, "Jinkies!"

"What is it, Velma?" Daphne asked.

"The _Hex Girls_ , who's an eco-goth band touring the city for the weekend, had a close call earlier this morning when the brakes of their tour bus failed and it crashed into a streetlamp." Velma replied as she showed the article to the others. "Fortunately, no one was hurt but their bus is badly damaged and will be out of commission for the week."

"Jeepers." Daphne remarked.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy added. "Like, did they determined the cause of the braking failure?"

"Not yet, Shaggy." Velma replied. "Though it has been rumoured that the band has been jinxed by a curse of some sort."

"A curse?!" Shaggy shuttered as Scooby leaped into his arms.

"A curse involving a witch's ghost." Velma replied. "Legend has it that the _Hex Girls_ had performed a song that was based on an ancient Wiccan chant and that performance angered the ghost of a Wiccan witch, who placed a curse on them, warning them to 'face the wrath of the Phantom, so saith the Witch!'"

"It's only a legend, isn't it?" Fred asked as he stopped at a red light.

"Of course." Velma said as she turned to face her friends. "You guys know that I'm a big fan of the Oakhaven-based band, right?"

There was a beat of silence, only shattered by the blinking from Shaggy and Scooby, as the gang stared at her in an awkward silence before Fred nodded.

"You mentioned that you've been collecting their albums since they first started performing when you were fourteen." Fred said.

"That's right." Velma said. "And I'm not going to let that sort of curse sway my opinion of the band. Curse or no curse, the _Hex Girls_ are the best eco-goth band ever!"

"Like, do you suppose that the braking failure was a result of that curse from the witch's ghost?" Shaggy asked.

"You know that a centuries-old witch's ghost or phantom sabotaging the tour bus' brakes sounds ridiculous, Shag." Fred replied.

"Well, I'm just saying." Shaggy shrugged dismissively.

The rest of the ride was carried through in silence as the gang later arrived at their school.

* * *

During second period, the faculty was called over to the auditorium.

"Sure wonder what is this about." Shaggy can hear one of the students remarking.

As the students and faculty chat among themselves, the gang looked around.

Before long, a wave of silence hushed through the auditorium when the school principal walked onto the front stage.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen." Principal James Shore announced as he spoke into the microphone. "I sincerely apologize for the confusion about this period's guest presentation in the auditorium, as I only received word from the school board superintendent in the last minute about the go-ahead with the presentation, especially after our guest presenters were involved in this morning's accident as you all may have heard about."

"Wait...you mean the guest presenter for this presentation is..." Velma's voice trailed off just as the guest presenters walked onto the stage.

"But in spite of that accident, the guest presenters insisted in coming to the presentation." Stone continued as he gestured towards the guest presenters walking onto the stage. "Therefore, joining us today for our musical lecture on environmental causes are: The Hex Girls!"

There were roars and cheers from the students as the eco-goth band walked onto the stage. Among those that roared were Velma.

"Thank you!" The attractive lead singer of the band, who Velma recognized as Sally McKnight, a.k.a. Thorn, said as she took the microphone and waved her hand at the cheering students. "Thank you very much."

After Principal Shore took a seat, Thorn continued, "So as all of you may be aware, the girls and I got into a serious car accident just this morning."

There was some silence from the students before she continued, "But, as you can see, we're okay. Now, before I dive into this presentation, I will like to invite you all to this weekends concert Crystal Cove's Terror Dome Stadium, and all of the money raised through the tickets sales will be donated to environmental causes, and-"

Before Thorn could finish, the lights in the auditorium started flashing.

As everyone in the auditorium started to wonder what was going on, all in a sudden, a bolt of lightning came out from nowhere, followed by a puff of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, everyone gasped as a figure appeared right in front of Thorn.

Everyone was speechless as the figure, who was wearing a robe, large black cape complete with a good, raised an arm and pointed at Thorn.

"Listen Hex Girls, carefully." The hooded figure hollered. "The Witch's Ghost has marked you as bounded for misery. This will be your final show or you will suffer endless woe. So saith the Phantom!"

"Hey!" Principal Shore bellowed as he stood up and marched towards the Phantom. "Nobody invited you on the stage, and-"

"Silence!" The Phantom ordered as he pointed a finger at Shore and fired a lightning bolt towards the principal, to everyone's shock and horror.

The principal managed to duck in time, while the lightning bolt hit a copper statue and bounced towards the audience stand.

"Freddie, look out!" Both Velma and Daphne shouted when they saw the bolt speeding towards Fred.

Before the blonde could duck, he was hit by the lightning bolt and seconds later, his clothes were charcoal black and his hair spiked as if he was just electrocuted.

Fred blinked and exhaled, blowing smoke as he did.

"Like, you sure looked like Einstein, Fred." Shaggy chuckled, only to earn a jab in the ribs by Velma.

Their attention, however, was soon back to the stage.

"You heard the principal." Thorn said defiantly to the Phantom. "And besides, no Phantom is going to disrupt the concert plans of the Hex Girls!"

The Phantom scoffed as he raised another finger. "I warn you and you disobey. This will be your dying day!"

He then shoot out another lightning bolt before another puff of smoke appeared in front of Thorn. Seconds later, the Phantom was gone, while everyone looked up and saw that the lightning bolt had hit the curtain support above.

"Thorn, look out!" Velma shouted as the curtain started crashing down to the stage.

Before Thorn could hear Velma's warning in the chaos of the scene left by the Phantom as students hurried to leave the auditorium, the heavy curtain crashed onto Thorn.

The gang gasped and hurried onto the stage to check on her.

Thorn was lying on the stage floor, knocked out cold.

* * *

 **Uh oh. Looks like Thorn is going to need medical attention immediately.**

 **What will happen next? Please read and review, and remember to vote in the poll on my Profile.**


	3. After the attack

Chapter 3: After the attack

A short while later, the gang were at the nurse's office checking on Thorn. Also there were her bandmates, the band's songwriter Daniel Prezette and manager Gus Boggs, as well as the school principal.

Thorn has been examined by the school nurse, who determined that she won't be experiencing much issues, although she was advised to get some rest and lay off singing and performing for the remainder of the week.

As Thorn sat on the bench with a bag of ice cubes by her forehead, her bandmates were conferring with the manager, who doesn't seem a bit happy at all.

"I told you that you should've cancelled the presentation after we had that accident." Gus said to Thorn. "Especially with that curse of the Phantom floating around, but did you listen?"

"Yes, I know, I know." Thorn said bitterly. "But do you honestly think that I'll let some ancient curse stop us from performing and giving presentations?"

"Pardon me for asking." Fred said with some hint of smoke coming from his clothes and hair from his earlier electrocution. "But what's this Wiccan curse all about?"

"Yeah." Velma agreed. "Why would a witch's ghost curse you for performing a song based on an ancient Wiccan chant?"

"Beats me." One of the other girls, who Velma recognized as Dusk, shrugged. "That song was really popular with our fans and was the one that launched us into fame."

"Maybe the Wiccan witch that cursed you girls didn't like fame one bit." Daniel offered. "She probably thought that your transcribing the ancient chant into a popular rock song was insulting the faith, so she placed the curse on you girls."

"Well, but anyways, what should we do in the meantime?" The third girl, who Velma recognized as Luna, asked. "We've got a concert coming up this weekend, but with Thorn needing to get some rest, she won't be able to practice for that concert."

"What about you guys find someone to take Thorn's place?" Velma snapped her fingers.

"Oh yeah." Fred's expression brightened. "Perhaps we could send someone in the gang to work undercover in the band while we try to figure out this mystery about the Phantom and the witch's ghost curse."

"Great idea, guys." Dusk nodded. "Only trouble is, who should take Thorn's place?"

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby looked at the girls, namely Velma and Daphne.

"Would you like to take Thorn's place, Velma?" Fred asked.

"Me?" Velma gasped as she gestured at herself. "I'll like to, but I'm...er...how should I put this..."

As Velma trailed off while trying to think of something to say, Shaggy said, "Like, pick Daphne, Fred."

"Wait." Daphne said as she turned to Shaggy. "You want me...to perform with the Hex Girls while Thorn recovers, Shag?"

Shaggy nodded. "Like, didn't you mention that you wanted to sing, Daph?"

"Say, that's a good idea!" Thorn said before Daphne could answer. "We can have you dress up as me and you can take part in the practices while I recuperate."

"And during this time, you can help check out if there's anything suspicious, Daphne." Fred added. "Anything that will tell us more about that Phantom."

There was some silence from Daphne as she digested what was just said.

"Don't worry, Daphne." Velma said as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You'll be singing and performing with the world's best eco-goth band ever!"

"Not to mention that your parents might be happy to see you performing with a famous band like the Hex Girls, in addition to this being your chance to prove to your parents that you can be successful." Shaggy added encouragingly.

Daphne nodded thoughtfully.

"Sure." She finally said. "I'll give it a shot."

"Perfect!" Dusk smiled. "I believe we should get you all dressed up for the practice."

"Wait, the practice takes place...now...?" Daphne trailed off.

"We can't lose too much time, Daphne." Luna said as Thorn tugged the redhead along. "The concert is this weekend, and we're running short on practicing time."

"Will it be possible for me to first finish my classes, then arrive at the stadium for the practice after school?" Daphne asked.

"Don't worry about classes." Thorn said. "I'll explain everything to your school principal."

"And we'll show you our class notes for anything you've missed in class, Daphne." Velma added.

Daphne nodded. "Thanks, guys. Sure glad to have friends like you supporting me."

"Like, that's what friend's are for, right gang?" Shaggy said before turning to his friends, who nodded.

* * *

Later that afternoon after school, Shaggy and Scooby were home alone as usual. With no homework for the day, the duo decided to have a (Rather) large after school snack while watching television.

At that moment, the television channel they're tuned into was playing a movie, featuring a man in a suit speaking with a sinister-looking old man and a muscular-looking man that appeared to be the old man's henchman.

"I understand you're the man to see if someone is interested in acquiring items of nuclear nature." The man in the suit said.

"How do I know you're not CONTROL?" The old man asked suspiciously.

"If I were CONTROL, you'd be already been dead." The suit-wearing man replied nonchalantly.

"If you were CONTROL, you'd be already been dead." The old man said.

"Well, neither of us are dead, so it's obvious that I'm not from CONTROL." The suit-wearing man added.

There was some awkward silence between the three men as the suit-wearing man and the old man stared at each other. It was the third man that broke the silence.

"It actually makes sense." The man said, and the old man turned to him.

After some deliberation, the old man turned back to the man in the suit and reckoned him to follow them.

Shaggy and Scooby had a chuckle at the scene, particularly with the second remark about CONTROL.

"Like, that sure is one foolish but funny remark, Scoob." Shaggy said to Scooby.

"Reah." Scooby agreed. "Re ruy rin the suit kind of reminded re rof Rinspector Gadget for rome reason."

 **(Which movie are Shaggy and Scooby watching here?)**

As they watched the movie, Shaggy decided to check his cell phone and scrolled for the camera footage linked to a secret camera placed by Daphne at the Hex Girls band practice in the stadium.

The secret camera in question was given to Daphne by Velma just prior to her departure for the practice, and it was in the shape of a small lamp to be placed on a table near Thorn's room.

As Shaggy looked at the footage, he thought he noticed something suspicious.

"Uh oh, Scooby." Shaggy said, his voice becoming alert as he looked at the footage. "You may want to take a look at this."

Scooby nodded as he leaned over to watch the footage, and his eyes widened.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said. "Daph's going to be in big trouble!"

"Reah!" Scooby agreed as he shut off the television. "Re've got to get rere before rit's roo late!"

The duo quickly got up from the sofa and then raced out of their house after locking the front door on the way.

* * *

 **What is it that Shaggy and Scooby saw in the footage that caused them to react the way they did?**

 **Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	4. A malfunction in the trap

**Author's Note: You all got the movie right. It's the 2008 film version of _Get Smart._**

 **Just a bit of a background information on the movie in question. It's based on the classic 1960s television series of the same name and stars Don Adams as the title character Maxwell Smart (Agent 86).**

 **And for those of you that know the _Scooby_ franchise from the very beginning, Don Adams was a guest star in _The New Scooby-Doo Movies_ episode _The Exterminator._**

* * *

Chapter 4: A sunflower pot

Meanwhile, Daphne, Dusk and Luna were practicing on the stage as usual, as if they haven't been shaken up by that morning's two close-calls first at the tour bus crash and then at the auditorium of Crystal Cove Central High School.

Daphne was, by then, given a make-over and looked nearly identical to Thorn. That is, if you count out her purple eyes and slight traces of her orange-red hair in the wig she's wearing to make her identical to Thorn.

Unbeknownst to the girls, a figure was walking casually to Thorn's door with a package in hand.

The figure stopped at the door, looked around to make sure no one was around or watching, then swiftly placed the package onto the floor before walking away.

However, that figure's act was caught on camera by the nearby lamp that is really a camera in disguise, and Shaggy was watching the footage as the figure dropped the package off at Thorn's door.

Knowing that with that morning's two close-calls, Shaggy and Scooby were quick to summon Fred, Velma and Thorn and they raced over to the stadium, fearing that Daphne and the band are in bigger danger.

When they arrived at the stadium, Daphne and the rest of the band were at Thorn's door holding a package.

"Oh, you guys arrived just in time." Dusk said.

"I saw this package in front of Thorn's door after finishing practice and called the girls." Daphne said as she showed the package. "And it came with a note attached."

"What does it say?" Fred asked as they leaned over to read the note.

Daphne took the note off the package and started reading it.

"To the Hex Girls: In spite of my warning, you continued your practice for your next show. This present should be your next warning!" Daphne read. "Stop your practicing or I can't guarantee that you made it out of your practice alive! So saith the Phantom!"

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said. "The Phantom's not stopping his threats to the band."

"And what exactly is inside this package that will be our warning to stop?" Luna asked.

"I don't know." Velma said. "But whatever it is, we'd better treat it carefully."

"Like how?" Daphne asked.

"Fred, grab my bag and you guys will all find out." Velma instructed.

Fred nodded and reached for Velma's bag. She then opened it and snapped on a pair of gloves before taking out a bunch of masks.

"Put these on." Velma said. "You never know if the contents inside this package is toxic or not."

"Shouldn't we call the sheriff to deal with this package?" Thorn asked as she put on her mask.

"The sheriff's useless." Daphne said. "Threats like these aren't on the top of his priority list, especially suspicious packages."

"Huh." Dusk remarked as they watched what Velma is about to do.

"Is there a washroom with a deep sink nearby?" Velma asked as she picked up the package.

"Sure, there's one just down the hallway at the janitor's room, actually." Dusk replied as she pointed towards a certain direction. "Why?"

"Follow me." Velma reckoned them with a nod, and they followed her to the janitor's room.

Soon, they watched Velma plugging the sink and filled it with water. Then, she placed the package right into the filled-up sink.

"What did you do that for?" Fred asked as they watched the package submerged in the water.

"If that package contained some electrical device for electrocutions, or perhaps some explosive material or even hazardous substances, then at least the water should neutralize it." Velma replied.

The others nodded as they saw some bubbles forming in the sink and after another minute or so, Velma took the package out and opened it cautiously.

As it turned out, it was a pot of sunflowers that was inside the package.

"It's just a pot of sunflowers." Thorn said.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to be safe." Daphne said before showing the card with the threatening message and added. "Especially when the package came with a threatening note like this."

"True." The Hex Girls all nodded as they left the janitor's room and placed the sunflower on a nearby coffee table.

"Well, nonetheless, it'll be safer if you girls practice elsewhere." Fred said. "Did anyone else other than your manager, songwriter and us know that you girls were going to practice here in the stadium?"

"Well, the stadium's manager knows about it." Thorn said. "But the people were quite friendly and they don't seem like someone who'd threaten us."

"Nonetheless, Freddie's got a point." Velma pointed out. "For your safety, I suggest that you girls go practice someone else."

"Like where?" Dusk asked.

"Like in the downtown theater." Shaggy said. "It's currently vacant, and I know that the folks there won't mind if you girls head over to practice there."

"Besides, didn't you guys have an autograph-signing event going on there tonight?" Velma added.

The Hex Girls blinked and then looked at each other at the suggestion.

"Say, now that's a good idea." Luna agreed.

"And while we're at it, we can take the chance to lure the Phantom into a trap." Fred said. "And I've had just the plan on how to trap him."

He then gestured the group to huddle over as he explained his plan, and everyone nodded in approval.

Unbeknownst to anyone, that sunflower pot was actually a listening device, and a shadowed figure was listening to the conversation in a certain room in an unknown location.

That mysterious figure nodded and rubbed his hands sinisterly after listening to Fred's plan.

* * *

Soon, the gang was watching backstage as the Hex Girls practiced on stage in the theater as some fans that were at the autograph-signing event enjoyed the practice performance.

"That was amazing!" One of the fans screamed in amazement after the practice.

The band bowed as Daphne, posing as Thorn, spoke, "Thank you!"

The cheering then died down as Daphne continued, "Now for the autograph-signing we've promised!"

The fans cheered some more as Daphne prepared to head down the stage. However, as she turned for the stairs, the theater grew dark.

"Say, what's going on with the lights?" One of the other fans asked.

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appeared and a lightning flashed right behind Daphne, and Dusk and Luna gasped when the smoke cleared.

"Daphne!" Dusk shouted before realizing something and corrected herself. "I...I mean, Thorn, look out!"

"Huh?" Daphne asked as she turned around and spotted the Phantom behind her.

"So, in spite of my warning, you naughty girls continued your practice!" The Phantom hollered. "This should be your lesson to learn!"

"Now, Freddie!" Velma shouted, and Fred quickly threw a nearby switch he had installed earlier as part of his trap.

To the gang's horror, two cages, instead of one cage as Fred had designed, came down onto the stage, and they ended up trapping Dusk and Luna!

"Rhat wasn't supposed to rappen!" Scooby exclaimed as Fred and Velma gasped.

"Like, run Daphne!" Shaggy shouted as Daphne found herself facing the Phantom alone.

Daphne, who was already panicking, tried to take off and run, but the Phantom grabbed her by the arm.

"Errgh!" Daphne struggled as she tried to free herself from the Phantom's grip. "Let me go!"

"I don't think so." The Phantom hollered.

Then, before the gang could rush onto the stage to reach them, another puff of smoke emerged.

Seconds later, as the smoke cleared, everyone saw that Daphne was gone!

* * *

 **Uh oh. What will happen next? Please read and review!**


	5. Snooping around and a clue

Chapter 5: Snooping around and a clue

Shaggy and Scooby didn't make any effort to hide the devastation on their faces as Fred, Velma and the newly-freed Hex Girls surveyed the stage.

"I swear that the trap was working perfectly and was meant to drop onto the Phantom!" Fred said with his arms raised after freeing Dusk and Luna.

"Well, it sure did." Velma said. "Except that instead of one single cage to be dropped onto the Phantom, it's two cages that dropped onto Dusk and Luna."

"And the Phantom got away with Daph as a result." Shaggy said with his hands on his forehead. "Like, I sometimes wonder why should we let Fred design all the traps."

"Reah." Scooby agreed. "Respecially when rey ress up at times."

"Now come on, guys." Fred said. "You know that my traps often work."

"'Often' work?" Velma asked. "I wouldn't use that to describe how often your traps worked out the way it was intended. Remember the time where a similar trap setup ended with us getting caged and trapped in sticky slime?"

"And when those foul-ups occur, who usually sorts them out in the end?" Shaggy asked with his arms folded.

"Okay, okay." Fred said as he raised his arms in a gesture to calm down. "Maybe my traps often mess up, but that's no reason to doubt my trap-building abilities. They always serve their purpose when they worked perfectly."

"Well, for this case, it did." Thorn huffed. "Except that it was not in the intended way."

"Which could mean that either Fred made a major miscalculation while designing and setting the trap up." Dusk said.

"Or someone somehow knew that we were going to set up the trap in the theater and made changes to it while we weren't around." Fred said.

At that last remark, everyone's eyes widened when they understood what Fred was talking about.

"Like, who else was at the stadium with us when Fred told us about his plan?" Shaggy asked.

"Well, our band songwriter Daniel Prezette and manager Gus Boggs were there." Thorn said. "Why?"

"Could any of those two have anything to gain should the Phantom succeed in stopping you girls from performing?" Fred asked.

"Well, Gus was Daniel's manager at the time when he had his own acts." Dusk said. "That is, before Daniel gave up performing and settled for songwriting for us instead."

"If you ask me, I'll say that Gus is likely the Phantom." Shaggy said. "Like, his speech pattern sounded just like that creepy Phantom!"

"I don't think so." Luna shook her head. "Gus is really the nice and loyal manager and never entertains the idea of using a haunting publicity to draw profits."

"Well, anyways, don't you guys think we should take a look at Fred's trap?" Velma asked. "Whoever sabotaged it must've left a clue there."

"Say, that's a good idea, Velma!" Fred said. "You and me will go over to inspect my trap and see if we can pick up a clue!"

"Like, what should Scoob and I do in the meantime, Fred?" Shaggy asked.

"Simple." Fred replied. "You guys are going to go undercover."

"Undercover?" Shaggy raised an eyebrow. "Like, why?"

"Because we need someone who can keep an ear out for anything unfavourable to the girls in the band." Fred explained. "Someone must've knew that we were going to set up that trap here in the theater, so it's likely that this Phantom appearance was an inside job."

"I don't like the sound of this." Shaggy said.

"Re neither." Scooby agreed. "Rut we rave to ro rit for Raphne."

"Yeah." Shaggy nodded.

"What about us?" Thorn asked.

"I think it is best that you girls return to your bus for your safety." Velma said. "And during this time, Shaggy and Scooby will be doing some 'cleaning' on your bus and at the theater."

* * *

A moment later, Shaggy and Scooby were pushing a cart full of cleaning supplies while donning uniforms sported by janitors and maintenance staff.

"Like, these overalls aren't even my size!" Shaggy muttered as he held onto the overalls with one hand while pushing the cart with the other.

"Red rust've gotten the runiform of a fat ranitor for you, Raggy." Scooby laughed.

Shaggy didn't say another word as they continued on pushing the cart and looking around.

Elsewhere, Fred and Velma were backstage inspecting the trap.

"I sure will like to know how did that Phantom knew I was going to set up the trap here." Fred said.

"Beats me, Freddie." Velma shrugged as she examined a pulley with a magnifying glass. "Maybe someone was listening into our conversation while you outlined your plan for the trap."

"Well, I don't recall seeing anyone else around." Fred frowned before something occurred to him and he added, "Unless..."

He went through his memories as he tried to recall what else was present when he outlined his plan for the trap in the theater at the stadium.

"Unless what, Freddie?" Velma asked.

"Unless..." Fred tried to think, but he eventually gave up. "Hold the phone. It's times like this that I wish that I have a near-photographic memory like Shaggy's. You know, when he has this...flash vision of sorts when in deep thought."

"Well, perhaps his constant eating helps refreshes his memory." Velma offered. "Maybe the food he and Scooby enjoys eating the most have been scientifically proven to help sharpen your memory."

"Maybe." Fred said before he looked at the pulleys and said, "That's odd. I don't remember having two pulley's connected to the switch to the cage as part of the trap. I swear I simply used one to connect to the cage and switch when setting up the trap."

Velma looked up and saw a nearby security camera looking towards where they were at and said, "I hope the security camera has recorded some footage of someone messing with the trap."

* * *

Soon, the duo were in the security room as they rewind the security footage of the camera Velma had pointed out.

"Here's the moment that you were setting up the trap, Fred." Velma said as she paused and started playing the footage from the moment Fred left the pulley.

Fred nodded as he and Velma looked on. At that moment, the cable linking to the switch was linked to one pulley and cage.

However, just 30 seconds after Fred was off-screen, the picture became fuzzy.

"Jinkies." Velma exclaimed. "The camera's footage is fuzzy. The camera must've suffered an electromagnetic interference!"

"Could be our friend who's arriving at the pulley to make some changes." Fred said as the footage returned to normal after a couple of minutes of fuzziness.

The moment the fuzziness stopped, Velma paused the footage once more.

"Now, let me zoom in onto the cables you linked the switch to the pulley and cage." Velma said.

Fred nodded as the picture of the pulleys became enlarged on the screen.

"Hold the phone, the cable's now linked to two pulleys!" Fred said.

"Which means that our friend the Phantom did mess with your trap." Velma said.

"Exactly." Fred nodded as he wrapped his arms around Velma in excitement and added, "You're a genius, Velma!"

Velma felt her face turning red as she smiled at Fred.

"Now we have to figure out how exactly did the Phantom know that I was going to set up the trap." Fred said.

"And why is he striking against the Hex Girls." Velma added.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	6. In the tour bus and the escape

Chapter 6: Inside the tour bus and the escape

Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby were using a vacuum cleaner and a mop to do some cleaning on the Hex Girls' bus.

Some minutes went by before they saw Daniel the songwriter leaving his office in a rush. He nodded at them as he made his exit.

The Hex Girls were away for dinner, leaving the duo on the bus alone.

"Scoob, do you think...?" Shaggy said as he swung his arms and gestured towards Daniel's office, as if to indicate if they should go search the office.

"Rure." Scooby nodded. "Ras long ras it give rus romething that rill relp us found Raphne."

Shaggy nodded back before he lead the way into Daniel's office, one of them holding a broom and the other holding a mop as they entered.

To their surprise, the office was quite a mess with papers scattered everywhere and Shaggy could barely see the outline of a desk.

"Like, someone's sure a messy housekeeper!" Shaggy remarked.

"Reah." Scooby agreed as they looked around the office.

Looking around the office, Shaggy noticed a diploma hung on the office wall issued by Darrow University to Daniel.

"Check it out, Scooby!" Shaggy said. "Daniel's got a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering!"

Scooby, however, wasn't listening as he was busy looking at a certain poster.

"Scooby?" Shaggy asked before turning and saw the poster Scooby was looking at.

It was a poster of Daniel's latest album _Fantzee Pantz_ , with Daniel in the poster wearing his stage names trademark dark glasses and the blue hip-hop-type suit, making a pose where his left hand is reached frontward with the index finger and thumb in a L-shape pose.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy remarked. "I didn't know Daniel is a pop star in his own right."

"Ras, Raggy." Scooby corrected him as his paw gestured towards a nearby newspaper article and added, "Ras."

Shaggy leaned forward to read the newspaper article Scooby was gesturing towards at.

"FANTZEE PANTZ HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!

Local singer-songwriter cites growing competition from eco-goths as reason of throwing the towel"

"Huh." Shaggy remarked before scanning a few paragraphs in the news article. He took note of the paragraphs that mentioned Pantz's rivalry with the Hex Girls early in his singing-songwriting career.

"Ro you ruppose...?" Scooby asked before trailing off.

Before Shaggy could respond, they heard a crash outside the office.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said as he and Scooby leaned onto each other in fear before heading out of the office.

As the duo looked around, the lights started to flicker before going dark abruptly.

"What's going on?" Shaggy swallowed as they looked around nervously.

"Get out!" The all-too-familiar voice of the Phantom hollered from behind.

The duo swallowed and turned, coming face to face with the Phantom standing behind them.

"Snooping around, eh?" The Phantom hollered.

Shaggy and Scooby swallowed and grinned nervously.

"L-l-like, we're doing some...um...cleaning, Mr. Phantom." Shaggy said nervously.

"Reah, cleaning." Scooby nodded as he held a cloth.

However, the Phantom only growled in response and raised his hand, knocking over a Thorn action figure in the process.

The action figure dropped to the floor and its head became detached from the rest of the body and rolled over to Shaggy and Scooby's feet.

Eying the detached head of Thorn's action figure, the Phantom folded his arms and said, "What's this on the floor I see? One head of three; soon dead they'll be."

Knowing that the Phantom is serious about his words, Shaggy and Scooby quickly took off running before the Phantom could grab them.

At that very moment, the radio on the bus started playing Scott Joplin's _Maple Leaf Rag_ as the Phantom took off chasing the duo.

The Phantom chased the duo around the seats at the back of the bus, looped around, and then chased them to the hallway with six curtain-covered luggage racks, two on the left beside a closet door and four on the right.

Shaggy and Scooby were quick to race onto the bottom left rack and hid behind the curtain, and the Phantom reached the rack and pulled the curtain open.

However, not seeing the duo hiding behind the curtain, the Phantom growled and looked closer into the luggage rack Shaggy and Scooby walked into earlier.

At that very moment, Shaggy and Scooby emerged from their hiding spot at the top front rack at the right and promptly walked into the door on the left.

Seeing the duo, the Phantom walked over to it and opened it, only to find no one inside the closet.

At that moment, Shaggy and Scooby simultaneously emerged from different racks, peeked out, and upon seeing the Phantom's returning to them, quickly retreated.

The Phantom, as if catching up to the trend of hide and seek, entered top back rack at the right and the trio, moving along with the beat of the ragtime music, individually and simultaneously emerged from their hiding spots, peeked out and then retreat back into their hiding spots.

Eventually, the ragtime music ended just as Shaggy emerged from the bottom front rack at the right, just as the Phantom emerged from the top front rack at the right and made eye contact.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as he raced towards the closet and shut the door.

The Phantom followed suit and forced the door open, only to find the closet empty.

In annoyance, the Phantom slammed the door shut and walked away.

Inside their hiding spot, Shaggy and Scooby stood as rigid as a pile of lumber, not moving a muscle.

After some minutes, Shaggy broke the silence.

"Like, you think he's gone, Scoob?" Shaggy asked.

Scooby's ears perked as he leaned towards the door to listen. However, before he could say something, they started smelling something burning.

"Rou smell romething, Raggy?" Scooby asked.

Shaggy sniffed and nodded, and they immediately bursted the door open.

To their shock and horror, the lounge was on fire, and the fire is spreading towards where Daniel's office was at.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as Scooby leaped onto his arms. "FIRE!"

"Ret's get rout of rere!" Scooby shouted.

The duo took off and tried to find the door, only to find the area near the door engulfed in flames.

Through the nearby window, Shaggy caught a glimpse of the Phantom disappearing just as fuel began leaking from the fuel tank.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed. "We're trapped, Scoob!"

Scooby whimpered before noticing the nearby fire extinguisher and said, "Raybe not."

Before Shaggy could point out that the fire extinguisher is too small to put out an out-of-control fire like the one they're facing, not to mention the extinguisher not enough to put out a fire that has trapped them, Scooby, like a shot put athlete competing in the Summer Olympics, grabbed the fire extinguisher and with all his might, threw it towards the nearest window.

In slow motion, Shaggy looked on as the fire extinguisher smash through the window and shattered it into small pieces in the process.

"Ret's get rout of rere!" Scooby said as an escape opportunity presented itself.

Shaggy nodded and they duo quickly rushed out of the broken window, landed on the ground and rolled before getting up and run some more.

In slow motion, Shaggy and Scooby ran and jumped from the ground and landed behind a nearby brick wall just as the tour bus blew up.

The duo landed and hid behind the brick wall as the deafening explosion hit, then when the area was clear from the flying debris, the duo stood up and looked from their hiding spot.

The tour bus has been reduced to a pile of burning scrap metal and rubber, and everything inside the bus was not recognizable.

Looking at each other, Shaggy and Scooby swallowed as they thought about the close call and escape.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	7. The trapdoor

Chapter 7: A trapdoor

"Hold the phone!" Fred exclaimed in surprise after Shaggy and Scooby told him, Velma and the Hex Girls what had just transpired at the tour bus. "Surely you guys can't be serious?!"

"We're serious, man." Shaggy insisted. "That Phantom actually tried to kill us!"

"Rand don't call rus Shirley." Scooby added.

"And now our tour bus is destroyed." Thorn said.

"Which means someone sure is going through a lot of trouble trying to scare you girls into not performing this Saturday." Velma said. "Question is: Why?"

"Were you guys able to find any clues?" Fred said as he turned to Shaggy and Scooby.

"Like, we sure did." Shaggy said. "Scoob and I saw a poster advertising Fantzee Pantz's latest album in Daniel's office, along with a newspaper article that told us that he has threw in the towel for his own singing-songwriting performing career just a few months ago, back this past August."

"Around the time he started writing songs for us." Dusk interjected.

"Right." Shaggy nodded. "Now, he cited his competition with eco-goths as the reason for his throwing the towel on his performing career as Fantzee Pantz, and the news article mentioned that you girls were fierce rivals with him early in his career."

"That's old news, guys." Luna said. "Daniel's working for us now, and he seemed very keen in burying our infamous rivalry for good."

"I don't know." Shaggy shook his head. "But another thing Scoob and I saw in Daniel's office was a bachelor's degree certificate awarded from Darrow University. Guess what degree did he graduate with?"

When the others made no response to Shaggy's question, Scooby revealed, "Relectrical engineering."

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed as her eyes widened. "You guys may be onto something."

"Right, except that we still don't know how did the Phantom know that Fred was going to set up the trap in the theater." Thorn pointed out.

"Rell, we do know that ro one ras nearby ren Red rold rus the plan." Scooby said. "Ror did we tell ranyone of the plan rafterwards."

"Like, all we did was listening to Fred's plan." Shaggy agreed. "I'm sure none of us told anyone else of the plan. Besides, all we did beforehand was placing Thorn's new flowers at the coffee table near Thorn's room."

However, as soon as Shaggy made the remark, everyone paused and turned to him.

Seeing the strange looks on their faces, Shaggy said, "Was it something I just said?"

"What was it that we placed on the coffee table near Thorn's room, Shaggy?" Velma asked.

"Like, Thorn's new flowers. So..." Shaggy quickly said before trailing off when something occurred to him.

SHAGGY'S FLASH VISION

The group watched themselves and Daphne discussing Fred's plan in Thorn's room in the shadows, though their attention was drawn to the flowers on the coffee table.

Examining the flowers, Velma observed and said, "The disk in the sunflower looks suspiciously like a microphone."

Tapping the flowers, Fred noted that it felt plastic-like.

"Hold the phone, these aren't real flowers at all!" Fred exclaimed. "It must be a listening-device!"

The others nodded at the conclusion before Shaggy's flash vision moves towards a hypothetical situation where he imagined Daniel assembling the listening device disguised as a sunflower.

With the man's degree in electrical engineering, he had no trouble picturing Daniel working through assembling the circuits of the listening device.

"Like, he must've been the one listening in to our conversation through the fake flowers as Fred discussed his plan for the trap." Shaggy nodded.

END OF FLASH VISION

"And with his electrical engineering degree, he could've had the knowledge and skill set to assemble a lightning-throwing costume like that of the Phantoms!" Velma added.

Everyone nodded as Velma came to the conclusion on the identity of their possible culprit of the Phantom.

"Now what should we do next?" Dusk asked.

"We have to find Daphne." Shaggy quickly said. "She could be in danger, especially since that Phantom did tried to kill us!"

"But where do we start on that?" Thorn asked. "I'm sure we don't have much time, considering what the Phantom may do to Daphne when he finds out that she's not..."

"I'll say right on the stage at where she was standing in for you when the Phantom appeared." Fred quickly said.

* * *

Soon, the gang and the band were on the stage examining the area where Daphne was standing at while performing as Thorn.

"You know, it's irrational to think that spooks like Phantoms are real." Velma said. "It's always the key behind the mysteries we've encountered and solved."

"So how do you explain Daphne and the Phantom's disappearance from the stage?" Dusk asked.

"It's quite simple, actually." Velma said as she kneeled down at the area where Daphne was standing before pointing towards a faint outline. "Notice the narrow gap outline at where she was standing at?"

The others kneeled and looked towards where Velma was pointing before nodding.

"Right." Fred said. "And I'll bet that if I pull the lever that activated the trap, the area will drop down."

Scooby walked over to the lever used for activating the ill-fated trap and pulled it. In addition to the usual dropping of the two cages, the area they were examining opened downwards.

"A trapdoor." Luna said.

"And there are two pairs of footprints on the trapdoor, one of which has...marks." Fred observed.

"Like, does that mean that the Phantom has long feet?" Shaggy asked.

"No, Shaggy." Velma replied. "It looks like dragged marks to me."

"Which means that someone could've dragged Daphne away once she dropped through the trapdoor." Fred said.

"Like the Phantom, for instance." Thorn said.

The group then looked through the open trapdoor and noticed more drag marks on the ground below, along with a set of footprints.

"There are footprints down there!" Shaggy pointed. "Could that lead us to the Phantom had held Daphne captive?"

"There's only one way to find out, guys." Fred said. "Let's follow them."

* * *

 **What will happen next? Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	8. Under the stage

Chapter 8: Under the stage

Soon, the gang and the Hex Girls were at the basement area below the stage, staring at the spot right below the trapdoor which Daphne had fell through.

"Here's the spot Daphne has landed after she disappeared through the trapdoor above us." Fred said as they looked at the spot.

"There are clearly marks of her being dragged." Velma observed. "As we noticed when up on the stage, along with the footprints."

"Could those be left by the Phantom?" Dusk asked as she pointed at the footprints.

"And more importantly, where is Daphne at?" Shaggy added.

"There's only one way to find out, gang." Fred replied as they proceeded to follow the drag marks and footprints.

Following Fred's lead, the gang followed the footprints with Scooby sniffing the ground as they went.

It didn't take long before they found that the drag tracks and footprints lead them to a dead end.

"That's it." Fred said. "The hallway ends here."

"Right at a dead end." Velma agreed. "Though having footprints going through a wall? I don't think so."

"Do you have to say d-d-'dead', Velma?" Shaggy asked as he shivered at the word, given the close call he and Scooby experienced earlier.

"It's just a figure of speech, guys." Velma rolled her eyes.

"But anyways, how could the Phantom, dragging Daphne, go through that wall?" Dusk asked.

Fred walked over to the wall in front of them and knocked on it.

"Hmmm..." His eyes narrowed as he listened to the knocking. "This wall felt...hallow."

"What does this mean?" Thorn asked.

"It means that this wall was hastily built and that there's a room behind it." Velma said.

"Right." Fred agreed before moving his hands towards the corners to feel them before saying. "However, the corners of the walls seems to be sealed tight."

"There's gotta be something that can let us through the wall." Shaggy said. "Daph's going to be in great danger if we don't act."

As the gang ponders on what to do, Scooby, exhausted by the close call and all the walking, decides to sit down.

However, the moment he sat down, the wall in front of them started to shake.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said. "What's going on?"

Before anyone could answer, the wall suddenly moved upwards like a slide door, revealing a set of stairs, some equipment, a desk and a chair.

"A secret stairway!" Luna exclaimed. "You did it, Scooby-Doo!"

"Ri did?" Scooby asked.

"It must be a secret switch on the ground that opened the wall." Fred said as Scooby got up.

"And check out all of this equipment!" Velma added as she pointed at the equipment.

As she, Fred and the Hex Girls checked out the equipment right by the stairs, Shaggy and Scooby climbed up the stairs.

The stairs lead them to a ladder, and at the top of the ladder, they saw a closed trapdoor.

Shaggy was the first to climb up the ladder and opened the trapdoor. When he did, he found himself looking at some hung clothes.

"Say, this ladder leads us to someone's change room!" He announced.

"Really?" Velma called from behind. "Who's?"

"We're about to find out." Shaggy replied as he opened the room door.

The room looked really familiar with a sofa, some posters and other stuff found in a movie stars room.

He and Scooby then walked towards the main door and opened it, where they found themselves back in the hallway backstage.

"Like, this is Thorn's room." Shaggy said after seeing the coffee table on the hallway with the "sunflower".

Back in the secret room below Thorn's change room, Velma heard Shaggy's remark loud and clear through the radio.

"Jinkies!" Velma said. "That sunflower really is a listening device!"

It was then that Thorn noticed a switch on the radio and said, "What does that switch do?"

Fred leaned closer as Velma examined the device.

"I think it is something that enables two-way communication between that listening device and the radio." He said as he flipped the switch.

Over at the coffee table in front of Thorn's room, Shaggy and Scooby were looking around when they heard some muffling.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said. "Did you hear that, Scoob?"

"Reah." Scooby agreed. "Rounds like re ghost."

Just then, Fred's voice burst through from the sunflower.

"Shag, Scooby." Fred said. "Can you guys hear me?"

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed again as Scooby leaped into his arms. "Was that you, Freddie?"

"Yeah, it's us, Shag." Fred replied. "We found the radio that whoever was behind the Phantom was using to listen into our communications when I discussed the trap."

"No, I mean before, Fred." Shaggy said. "Scoob and I heard something that sounded like a ghost!"

"I don't think so, Shag." Velma said. "We just discovered that the radio and sunflower listening device are capable of two-way communications."

As Velma was speaking, Scooby's ears perched when he heard the muffling again.

"Rhere rit is again, Raggy." Scooby said.

"Scooby and I just heard that ghostly muffling again." Shaggy said. "It's definitely not from you guys!"

"Which means that there's someone near where you guys are." Dusk says.

Shaggy and Scooby nodded as Scooby's ears perched again as he tries to pinpoint the source of the ghostly-muffling.

"Rit's coming from Rorns room." Scooby said.

Shaggy swallowed as he proceeded to follow Scooby back into Thorn's room. "Sure hope we don't end up with the Phantom again!"

As they entered the room, they noticed that the couch was arranged differently than the last time they caught a glimpse of Thorn's room when they were discussing Fred's trap.

"Like, the couch seemed to be placed in a different position, Scoob." Shaggy said, pointing at the couch.

Scooby nodded as they walked over to the couch.

Over the couch, they saw Daphne, laying on the floor, tied up and gagged.

"Daphne!" Shaggy exclaimed as he and Scooby quickly jumped over the couch and moved to untie the redhead.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	9. The trap and captured at last

Chapter 9: The trap and the capture

A short time later, the gang were gathered around Daphne as they comforted her.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Daphne!" Velma said as she, Fred and the Hex Girls went to join Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby after the latter two managed to untie the former.

"It was thanks to Scooby, guys." Daphne replied as she rubbed Scooby's head.

"Yeah." Shaggy agreed. "Like, he was the one that first heard Daph's muffling when we were near that phoney sunflower."

"So what was the Phantom planning on doing to you, Daphne?" Thorn asked. "Did he find out that you weren't me?"

"No." Daphne shook her head. "But he did mention that he plans to take care of the Hex Girls together once he gets Dusk and Luna."

"Which means that we've gotta move fast, gang." Fred said. "While you were gone, the others and I managed to put two and two together on who the Phantom really is, Daph."

"Which also means that we're going to have a trap coming up soon." Velma added.

"What's the plan?" Dusk asked.

"You girls are going to continue your practice for tonight, right?" Fred asked the Hex Girls.

"Yes, we are." Thorn nodded.

"Then, you girls are going to continue your practice as usual and lure out the Phantom." Fred said as he rubbed his hands together. "The gang and I will then take care of him."

* * *

A short while later, back in the theater, the Hex Girls were preparing their instruments for their practice.

"I don't get it, Fred." Shaggy was speaking as they finished Fred's trap backstage. "Why is Daph still wearing her 'Thorn' disguise if Thorn's feeling better?"

"It's part of the plan, Shag." Fred replied. "Once that Phantom appears, he will more likely try to go after Thorn again."

"And then when Daphne shows up in the right time, he can get confused." Velma added.

Shaggy nodded but frowned. "I don't know, man. Sounds like a dangerous plan."

"Reah." Scooby agreed. "Respecially since Raphne was rust rescued."

"I'll be fine, Shag and Scooby." Daphne walked over and placed her hands on their shoulders. "Don't worry. Just focus on helping Fred in capturing that Phantom."

Shaggy and Scooby both nodded before they resumed setting up the trap.

"Like, this better work." Shaggy muttered under his breath as he set up the dummy on the armchair.

* * *

Soon, Luna and Dusk were playing their instruments in their practice, with Thorn standing backstage and waiting for the cue for her to get onto the stage.

Meanwhile, alone in Thorn's room, Daphne, still disguised as Thorn, was applying makeup.

Unbeknownst to her, the familiar-looking cloud of smoke appeared with some lightning bolts, followed by a shadowed figure walking towards her.

Through her reflection in the mirror, Daphne can see that she's nearly Thorn's onstage identical twin just as she saw the familiar-looking Phantom approaching her.

"So, in spite of my warning, Sally McKnight, you decided to continue with what the Witch's Ghost will consider as sinful!" The Phantom hollered.

Daphne gasped as she dropped the lipstick she was holding and turned, face-to-face with the Phantom.

"The Witch's Ghost has decided that your end has come, so be prepared to face her wrath, so saith the Phantom!" The Phantom said as he raised an arm.

Just then, a splash of water appeared out of nowhere and hit the Phantom!

"Huh?" The Phantom growled as he turned towards the source of the water.

Standing right at the doorway were Shaggy and Scooby, the former holding a now-empty bucket as the latter growled at the Phantom.

"I don't think so!" Shaggy said. "You leave Thorn alone!"

"So...in spite of my warning, you still dare to challenge the Phantom, huh?" The Phantom growled as he marched towards the duo, momentarily forgetting about Daphne.

Shaggy and Scooby both continued to look at the Phantom defiantly with no signs of backing down.

"Very well, then." The Phantom continued as he raised his right hand, preparing to fire a lightning bolt. "Be prepared to face the wrath of the Witch's Ghost, so saith the Phantom!"

However, what happened next completely caught the Phantom off guard as a mild explosion took place instead, which caused him to end up flying backwards and towards the couch in Thorn's room.

As the Phantom knocked over the couch and hit the wall, Shaggy and Scooby quickly went to grab Daphne by the hand.

"Like, gangway!" Shaggy exclaimed as they took off running.

The Phantom, having had recovered from the mild explosion, growled as he got up and went after the trio.

At the doorway, the Phantom spotted "Thorn" making a turn towards backstage and proceeded to run off after her.

Eventually, the Phantom reached backstage and spotted Thorn resting on an armchair.

"Aha!" The Phantom exclaimed when he spotted Thorn. "Thought you can get away from the Phantom, huh?"

He then reached for the catwalk above and then swung towards Thorn in the armchair, one hand holding onto a length of rope, as he continued, "I've warned you, but you disobeyed, so this will be your dying day!"

The Phantom laughed evilly as he snatched Thorn from the armchair, unaware that a length of rope was tugging onto Thorn.

As he swung up to the catwalk on the other side of the stage, he saw that the Thorn he snatched was a dummy!

"Huh?" The Phantom asked.

Just then, the rope tugging the dummy reached its maximum length, causing the Phantom's hand to slip off the rope he was holding onto and he fell to the floor.

As the Phantom landed on the floor and groaned, another pulley was at work as a large net pulled by weights was in motion.

Hearing a whistle-like noise from above, the Phantom looked up, in time to see the net falling onto him!

"NO!" The Phantom exclaimed before the net landed right on him and trapped him.

The gang and the Hex Girls, who were observing the whole action unfold, high-fived each other and walked towards the trapped Phantom as he struggled to break free, to no avail.

"Like, what goes up must come down!" Shaggy remarked.

* * *

 **One more chapter to go, folks!**

 **Please read and review!**


	10. All is revealed and the concert

Chapter 10: All is revealed and the concert

A short while later, the sheriff, a couple of deputies, Principal Shore and the Hex Girls' manager arrived at the scene while the Phantom growled and struggled in the net.

"Let me go, you fools!" He growled as he glared at Thorn. "You all will regret this, especially you, Sally McKnight!"

"Huh." Daphne's voice can be heard in the background as she walked over to join the gang, still in her Thorn disguise. "I don't think so."

"Wha-?" The Phantom exclaimed when he saw the two Thorns standing together, both with their arms folded. "Two Thorns?! It can't be!"

"Okay." Stone said as he and the deputies walked over to handcuff the Phantom. "Can someone tell me what on earth is going on here?"

"We've caught the Phantom that has been causing trouble to the Hex Girls lately, sheriff." Fred said.

"Only, he's not really a phantom, sheriff." Velma added.

"Not a phantom?" Gus asked. "You mean he's not real, as with the curse from the Witch's Ghost?"

"That's right." Shaggy nodded. "Like, they were a cover story for a faded star to seek revenge on the Hex Girls for ruining his singer-songwriting career."

"Isn't that right, Daniel Prezette?" Daphne added just as Fred pulled the Phantom's mask off, revealing the songwriter as being behind the mask while the Hex Girls and Gus all gasped in surprise.

"Or should we call you, Fantzee Pantz?" Shaggy added as Daniel grumbled.

"Daniel?" Gus exclaimed in surprise. "But...why?"

"For revenge, of course!" Daniel said bitterly. "What else? No one was going to my concert performances anymore, and it was thanks to the Hex Girls!"

"Anyways, how did you guys know that Daniel was the Phantom?" Thorn asked.

"It was simple." Velma began. "Our first clue will be the security footage that became fuzzy when the Phantom was near, likely due to the electromagnetic suit he was wearing that enabled him to fire lightning bolts."

"That security footage happened to be taken from a camera located backstage near where I had set up my first trap, and given that the trap didn't work out as intended, even though I've did plenty of double-checking during the set-up, the only way to explain was that someone tampered with the trap." Fred said. "Which was proven to be the case after Velma and I checked out the security footage of the area and saw some changes to the pulley system before and after the electromagnetic interference."

"Then, Shag and Scooby happened to be snooping around in the tour bus." Velma continued.

"Like, after Daniel had left his office, Scoob and I decided to go in to find anything that could tell us if he knew that someone had a beef against the Hex Girls." Shaggy nodded. "However, what we found were a Hex Girls poster covered in darts, a diploma issued by Darrow University for his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, a Fantzee Pantz poster and a newspaper article detailing the end of his singer-songwriting career as Fantzee Pantz."

"The only way that someone can construct a suit that can fire lightning bolts, in addition to the listening device that was in the shape of a sunflower, is if that someone had a degree in electrical engineering and understands the principles behind those circuits." Velma added. "Someone like Daniel, for instance."

"Right." Fred nodded. "However, it was that newspaper article Shag and Scooby found in Daniel's office that fully backed up his motive for the Phantom disguise."

"Yes." Shaggy agreed as he produced the newspaper page he instinctively managed to grab before he and Scooby encountered the Phantom on the tour bus. "Like, it explained the Hex Girls' bitter rivalry with Fantzee Pantz early in their respective careers."

"And it was one rivalry that Daniel never got over after he hung up the towel on his singer-songwriting career." Velma concluded.

"He must've picked up the legend of the Witch's Ghost when he began writing songs for us." Dusk said. "In fact, I won't be surprised if he actually wrote that transcription of that ancient Wiccan chant for us to perform and thus set up the legend of the Phantom."

"That's right!" Daniel said angrily. "You girls ruined my singer-songwriting career, and I would've had my revenge if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

"Okay, I think I've heard enough." Stone said as the two deputies walked over to escort Daniel to the cruiser. "Mr. Daniel Prezette, you are now under arrest for kidnapping, issuing threats and four counts of attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent."

After watching the deputies escorting a handcuffed Daniel to the cruiser, Stone turned to the gang.

"You kids were lucky enough that none of you got any scratches from your so-called 'hobby'." He said sternly. "Because I'm sure that the mayor, Mr. Blake, Mr. Dinkley and Mr. Rogers will hate to waste money on funerals, especially for the two of you, plus there's a reason why I wear this badge, you know."

By that last remark, Stone was pointing at his badge while the gang only rolled their eyes at the comment meant for Shaggy and Scooby. After all, it's Stone being, you know, Stone.

"Now I figure why the gang doesn't have much trust in the sheriff." Luna remarked.

* * *

After the sheriff had left, the Hex Girls turned to the gang.

"I really don't know how should we thank you guys for your help clearing this mystery up." Thorn said.

"Oh, it was nothing." Daphne replied. "We're just doing what we thought needs to be done."

"Plus, as students of Crystal Cove Central High School, we sure have the spirit of the Fighting Urchins!" Fred added as he pumped his fist.

"There's got to be someway for us to repay the favour." Dusk said.

At the remark, Velma's eyes lightened.

* * *

 _May 12, 2012_

That evening, the Terror Dome Stadium was packed with screaming fans and the Hex Girls performed their biggest hit: "Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air"

As Luna and Dusk began the instrumental introduction to their hit song, the gang walked onto the stage with their instruments with Scooby joined Dusk at the drums.

"Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air." Thorn began. "We may look bad but we don't care."

At that stage of the song, Shaggy joined in with the guitar, Daphne playing a second set of keyboards accompanying Luna while Fred and Velma played percussion and danced together.

"We ride the wind, we feel the fire," Thorn continued before Dusk and Luna joined in. "To love the earth is our one desire."

As the girls and the gang continued with the performance, the screaming fans just grew wilder and wilder.

It was a performance that was also being broadcasted live on television and on the internet, and plenty of YouTube channels streaming the concert have received thousands of views worldwide.

Among those that have viewed the concert were a certain Dr. Norman Rogers and Dr. Daisy Blake, who were seated in the living room of their respective houses.

Norman was cruising through the television channels when he happened to came upon a channel broadcasting the Hex Girls' concert in his hometown of Crystal Cove.

When the scene shifted to his youngest brother on the guitar dancing along with the beat of the music, together with Daphne and Scooby, he casually reached for his cell phone.

Likewise, when Daisy saw the scene featuring her youngest sister at the keyboard dancing along with the beat of the music, together with Shaggy and Scooby, she, too, casually reached for her cell phone.

After they both dialed a number, they waited for a reply.

When the party on the other end of their respective phones answered, they both answered, "It's me."

After a pause, they both continued, "You may want to turn on the television."

Another pause went by before Norman replied, "Five words: Norville and the Blake girl."

In that same time, Daisy replied, "Five words: Daphne and the Rogers boy."

* * *

 **Uh uh. Looks like we're about to receive another earful from Shaggy and Daphne's parents.**

 **What will happen next? All I can say is stay tuned!**

 **The adventure continues in _D3 SDMI: The Grasp of the Gnome!_**


End file.
